Key milestone for Congo LNG project as Eni’s Tango FLNG receives first gas

Italian oil and gas company Eni has introduced the first gas into the Tango floating LNG (FLNG) facility moored in Congolese waters.

Eni revealed this ‘key milestone for the Congo LNG project’ on December 28, 2023, noting that gas introduction has been achieved in record time – only twelve months after the final investment decision (FID).

Following completion of the commissioning phase, Tango FLNG is scheduled to produce its first LNG cargo by the first quarter of 2024, placing the Republic of Congo on the list of LNG-producing countries.

The Tango FLNG facility has a liquefaction capacity of about 1 billion cubic meters per year (bcma). It is moored alongside the Excalibur floating storage unit (FSU) and uses a configuration called “split mooring,” implemented here for the first time in a floating LNG terminal.

To remind, Tango FLNG and Excalibur FSU sailed away from Dry Docks World yard in Dubai to Congo’s offshore on October 21, 2023, after refurbishment carried out by Exmar.

The Congo LNG project, which will see the installation of two FLNG plants, is expected to reach an overall LNG production capacity of 3 million tons per year (approximately 4.5 billion cubic meters/year) from 2025. It will exploit the gas resources of the Marine XII project, fulfilling the country’s power generation needs while also fuelling LNG exports, and supplying new volumes of gas to international markets focusing on Europe.

The second FLNG plant, already under construction, is expected to become operative in 2025, with a capacity of 2.4 mtpa.

The entire volume of LNG produced will be marketed by Eni.